Alexander Wilson
The New York Yankees acquired Camilo Doval because his raw arsenal is legitimately elite. A mid-90s sinker with late arm-side run, a slider that generates 50% whiff rates when he locates it, and a deceptive arm action that creates natural movement without relying on spin alone. On paper, that profile belongs in late-inning situations for a team with World Series ambitions. On the mound this season, it’s been a different story.
Doval’s 6.14 ERA over 14.2 innings has effectively removed him from any high-leverage consideration. Aaron Boone has leaned heavily on Fernando Cruz and Brent Headrick to handle the meaningful innings while Doval works through his mechanics, and the Yankees are hoping the underlying talent eventually catches up to the situation they need him for.
The Walk Problem Got Solved. A New Problem Replaced It.
The most interesting development in Doval’s 2026 is what’s changed from last season and what that change has revealed. In San Francisco, his primary issue was walking hitters at a 4.82 rate per nine innings. The Yankees’ pitching staff identified that problem and addressed it. His walk rate this season is down to 1.84 per nine, which is genuinely excellent and represents one of the better single-year improvements in command you’ll see from a relief pitcher.
The problem is that curing the walk rate didn’t fix everything. His Statcast data shows a pitcher giving up some of the hardest contact in baseball despite a 55.6% ground ball rate that ranks in the 91st percentile. That combination shouldn’t coexist, and it tells you something specific about where the damage is coming from.
It’s the slider. On 27.8% usage, batters are hitting .389 against it with an .833 slugging rate. The pitch generates a 50% whiff rate, which is elite, but it’s catching too much of the middle of the strike zone on the pitches that don’t get chased. When a slider hangs in the heart of the plate at 83 mph, even average hitters can put a good swing on it, and that’s exactly what’s been happening. The home run rate has spiked as a result because the pitches getting hit aren’t weak contact, they’re mistakes that travel.
The Sinker Is the Answer Right Now
The good news is that Doval has a pitch that’s working extremely well this season. His sinker, which he’s leaning on much more heavily than he did in San Francisco, is producing a .167 batting average against with genuine movement down in the zone. He’s been generating weak contact and ground balls at an elite clip when he stays in the sinker, and the arm-side run makes it difficult for right-handed hitters to get extended on the pitch.
The logical adjustment is to increase the sinker usage, particularly in counts where hitters are sitting on the slider. If opposing hitters know the slider command is inconsistent, they’ll be waiting for it in favorable counts. Throwing the sinker in those situations exploits that expectation and keeps the slider more effective when he does use it as a put-away offering.
What the Yankees Are Waiting For
Doval is not a lost cause, and the Yankees know it. His stuff has always been good enough to miss bats at an elite rate, and the walk rate improvement is real and lasting. The slider location is a mechanical issue that a pitching staff as analytically sophisticated as New York’s should be able to solve with enough film study and bullpen sessions.
The timeline is the concern. The Yankees need him to be a high-leverage option by the time October arrives, and getting there from 6.14 ERA in May requires meaningful progress between now and September. The trade deadline might give them an additional setup arm to reduce the pressure on Doval’s development, but the goal was never to replace him. The goal is to get the version of Doval the Yankees traded for.
The ingredients are all there. The recipe just needs more work.
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